1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to car audio/video systems and, more particularly, to a car audio/video system in which both a front panel and a rear panel are installed in the front of a 1-DIN-sized casing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, car audio systems comprise tuners, cassette decks, CD (compact disc) players, etc., and are used for listening to music or the radio.
Such a car audio system is typically installed in a dashboard that is placed in front of a driver's seat, so that a driver can easily operate the car audio system while driving a car.
The car audio systems have been typically fabricated to have a 1-DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung, German standard) size which has dimensions of about 178 mm width, 165 mm depth, and 50 mm height, and each includes an integrated front panel that is provided thereon with a plurality of control knobs, control buttons and a display unit having a predetermined size. The display unit of the car audio systems comprises a display panel, such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) panel, and displays thereon visual information, such as power status, volume level and radio mode/CD mode.
The above-mentioned display unit of the car audio systems has typically been installed in the central portion of the front panel. However, as the display unit is small-sized, the letters or figures displayed on the display unit are not clear, so that a driver must dangerously and repeatedly view the display unit in order to confirm the unclear letters or figures on the display unit. Thus, the driver, while driving a car, neglects to watch the road ahead, so that the driver cannot drive safely.
In recent years, a television function, allowing passengers in a car to view a television receiver that receives television broadcasts via terrestrial waves or communication satellites, and a navigation function have been combined with the car audio systems. Thus, the conventional car audio systems have been replaced with car audio/video (A/V) systems in which a video function is combined with the conventional audio function.
When drivers and passengers watch television or read maps using the conventional car A/V systems, a separate monitor for watching, which has a predetermined size, must be provided in addition to the front panel. Thus, to equip a car with the television function and the navigation function, the owner of the car must additionally purchase a monitor, which is expensive, and must undergo an inconvenience of forming a plurality of holes through the dashboard of his/her car, attaching a monitor support bracket to the dashboard using the holes, and mounting the monitor to the support bracket.
In an effort to allow the owners of cars to avoid the above-mentioned inconvenient work, a car A/V system which is 2-DIN-sized and is equipped with two front panels has been proposed. In the 2-DIN-sized car A/V system, one front panel is provided with a plurality of control knobs, control buttons and a display unit, while the other front panel is used as a monitor panel.
However, when the car A/V system is 2-DIN-sized, it is necessary to change the size of a cartridge of the dashboard, which has been typically manufactured to be compatible with 1-DIN-sized car A/V systems, to accommodate the 2-DIN-sized system. Due to the change in the size of the cartridge, the space occupied by the car A/V system in the dashboard is enlarged, so that the 2-DIN-sized car A/V system negatively affects the arrangement of other elements in the dashboard.
Furthermore, a car A/V system having a front panel drive mechanism, in which two front panels are normally retracted in a frame and project outwards such that one front panel moves upward and the other front panel moves downward, has been proposed. However, the car A/V system having the front panel drive mechanism is problematic in that the upward moving front panel hides the gauges, control knobs and control buttons on the dashboard, so that a driver must retract the upward moving front panel into the frame to expose the gauges, control knobs and control buttons to the outside when wanting to use them, and the retraction of the front panel into the frame inconveniences the driver.